


Another Carefully Laid Plot, Foiled

by HimboTylenol



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Cunnilingus, Erotica, F/M, Face Sitting, Gentle femdom, Mentions of Abusive Relationship, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Prone Bone, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smut, Talking, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, alcohol but they dont really have drunk sex bc im too old to think thats cool, but its honestly NOT angsty, i got really really embarassed by how explicit the sex got that it took me weeks to write it lmfao, i have no idea what to tag this lmao, mentions of ocd/anxiety, oh my god so much talking why, porn with little a plot as a treat, sorry for writing pr0n about a kids show I used to like T.T
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 08:01:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25347394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HimboTylenol/pseuds/HimboTylenol
Summary: Edd has an accidental encounter with a ghost from his past, and (apparently) he can't stay away. This was meant to be a oneshot porno but I got aggressive so now it's uhhhhh a slow burn I guess lol."The light over the door cast a dim, yellow light down on her, bleeding her wet, cerulean hair to light green. In a loose t-shirt and running shorts, her mouth was on a light beer, the rest of the six pack at her bare feet.Blue eyes snapped to meet his gaze and Edd stopped dead. 'Uh...'No, this hangover had most certainly removed his brain from his head.'You lost or somethin'?' Marie asked dryly, the silver can still at her lips.Edd replied, wide-eyed, 'Apparently not.'"
Relationships: Edd "Double D" & Marie Kanker, Edd "Double D"/Marie Kanker
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	1. A Walk

**Author's Note:**

> Since this was meant to be a one-shot, it's all done already! I'll drop more chapters as I proof read over the next month. Should only be like 3 chapters.
> 
> Sorry there's so much walking and talking in this ????
> 
> EDIT: oops its 5 chapters and i somehow wrote a whole other sex scene. fuckin' happens in chapters 4 and 5.

Edd's mom was a frugal person - and rightfully so! Why not save money anywhere they could? If something were to happen one day, they would be happy for their scrimping and saving then! 

But now was not then. And now was extremely humid, because the house was not permitted to waste electricity on any more AC than was necessary to prevent mold. Which meant Edd was sweating on his childhood bed in his boxers, top sheet kicked aside, feeling as though, maybe, if he stayed perfectly still, the heat wouldn't be able to find him.

But, if the thick heat outside didn't get to him, the hangover inside surely would. He'd attempted puking the hangover out this morning - grateful his parents were at work - but all that did was make him nauseous _and_ tired. He'd crawled back into bed at 9am and snoozed restlessly until after noon. 

The old CRT TV in his room - which his parents had gifted him during high school - drawled gently about graphene. That was his second hangover-cure tactic, but it turned out that even the power of the Public Broadcasting Service couldn't make him feel better today. 

Bonelessly slinking out of bed, Edd slipped into the kitchen, still in his underwear, to stand in front of the open fridge. "Ahh," he groaned, letting the cool air waft against his sweat-slicked skin. The hum of the refrigerator lulled him into a trance as he stared at the neat labels and stacked, primary-colored containers inside. He pulled out a bottle of Smart water and drained it in a long pull. Chucking the empty into the recycling, he grabbed a second and nursed it on his way back upstairs, his feet planting more firmly than before against cold tile.

The house was always recently-cleaned and always smelled faintly of disinfectant, but the orderly lines of rugs against spotless wood and lemon-y scent of his childhood put Edd at ease. In the clean, spacious bathroom - in every way the opposite of the dormitory bathroom - he stole a quick, cold shower, and returned to his room, invigorated.

Feeling like a little sun could only help to clear his mind and body, Edd selected a well-loved but well-maintained pair of basketball shorts and loose tee to brave the world. These particular articles of clothing did not make the trip to college with him, being remnants of a time when his parents still optimistically thought he might "fill out". Shirt already sticking to his chest, he pulled a ball cap on and headed out, arming the security system behind him. 

Outside was like walking into swimming pool. The sun beat down and cicadas chirped from the thickets beyond the neighborhood. Kids ran around, yelling in the cul de sac, and although the sight twisted the corners of Edd's mouth up, he headed for the space of the road, feeling sticky and ill. Maybe sun _wasn't_ the right move. But surely he could simply sweat out the hangover?

Although he'd arrived home yesterday, he hadn't taken had the time to explore the neighborhood again. Not that much could have changed since he'd been home for the winter holidays, but it had been cold, and he had a lot going on in between semesters, so it felt like a year since he'd been home. The gardens he passed still held onto some spring blooms, and trees burst into vibrant, early-summer green. The winter potholes had chucked up asphalt, and he doubted they'd be patched any time soon.

He turned into the lane along the playground, sticking to the shadows off the trees. Summer haze hung heavy, and he trailed his fingers along the metal fence, setting it to jangling. Passing behind Ed and Eddy's homes made him both want to laugh and vomit remembering the prior night. 

* * *

After dinner with his family (chicken breast and brussel sprouts), he'd headed over to Ed's basement, where Eddy had already converged. 

"Heyo, there he is," Eddy called when Edd entered the dark cavern, lit by an ancient lava lamp and the video game on the TV. Eddy tossed him a light beer in greeting, which Edd had fumbled before trapping it against his stomach. 

"Double Dee!" Ed unfolded to his full, lumbering height and wrapped Edd into a bear hug, lifting him off his feet. 

Edd laughed, relief flooding him at the familiar pattern, and patted Ed on the back, grinning at Eddy. "Hey fellas. It's great to see you two," he said, and meant it deeply. This sole point of chaos in his life - his two oldest friends - was a balm on his soul. 

Squeezing into the ratty couch with Ed on his left and Eddy on his right, he popped his can and guzzled the cold beer. Eddy twisted to futz with the music Edd had rigged to pipe through an old boombox when they were in high school. Ed lifted a glass bong off the floor which he offered to Double Dee, who declined with a wave of his hand. 

"How's work going?" he asked Ed, who buried his face in the bong and gave his lighter a few clicks. He felt guilty for it, but he was always surprised at how easily Ed held down a job. 

The water burbled and Ed inhaled, his chest inflating like a balloon. He lifted his head and seemed to attempt to blow smoke rings, but only accomplished wobbly orbs. He turned to Edd, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. "It's going great, Double Dee! I'm getting promoted again," he said with pride, left over smoke puffing over Edd's face.

"Really failing upward, that one," Eddy muttered, still fumbling with the music. 

Waving the smoke away, Edd responded, "Well that's great, Ed! I'm so happy to hear that. What's your new position going to be?"

"Before I was just driving the forklift, but now I get to decide where all the boxes go, and who gets to move them around," Edd announced lucidly, before pressing back into the couch with a goofy little smile spreading across his face. He picked up the discarded controller and unpaused the game. 

"Hey, hey, man! Don't just start playing again like that!" Eddy twisted back at the sudden cacophony of video game sounds, leaving the music on some old hip hop, and scrambled for his own controller. Eddy growled through gritted teeth, trying to catch up to Ed in the game, but he flicked his view to Double Dee and lifted a brow in his direction. "What about you, Double Dee? Good spring?" 

"Umm," Edd stalled, and sipped from his beer. "It's um." He sipped from his beer again, searching for the words, but coming up empty. His silence dragged on, as he failed to find a thought in his brain that he could stand to externalize. A strange suffocation caught in his chest, and he rubbed at it absently.

Eddy turned to fully look in his face, ignoring the game. "It's alright, man," he said gently. "We don't have to get into it."

Fingers still lazily rolling on the controller, Ed leaned toward him in quiet support, warming his shoulder. "Yeah," Edd nervously laughed, now trying to bury the intense feeling of gratitude for his friends that swelled in him and threatened to overflow from his face. He scratched at his neck and took another sip. "But...I've narrowed it down to chemical engineering or computer science. What about you, Eddy?"

Back to his usual impertinence, Eddy furiously pressed the triggers of the controller. "Fuckin' nerd," he scoffed, "I'm - sonofabitch!" Their game ended and Ed chortled in victory. "What the hell..." Eddy muttered, and emptied the nearest open beer. He belched and continued, "I'm thinking I'm goin' with econ, but if it's too hard then I'll drop that to a minor and figure something else out. Business, probably." 

Edd's eyes went wide. "Wow, economics, Eddy? That's great, I bet you'll really enjoy that," he said eagerly. Eddy went to their large state school, and Edd had worried he would get lost in the crowd, or resign himself to an "easy" major just to skate by. But he seemed to really thrive in the bustle and chaos, and had a different glow about him than he'd had in high school - more mature. More comfortable with himself. 

"Eh, a couple of guys in the house are econ majors, which is how I got into it in the first place. But anyway, if it's too hard I can just mooch off them," Eddy laughed. Even rushing his fraternity, the idea of which made Edd nervous to no end, seemed to have had a positive effect on Eddy. 

Eddy dug through the mini-fridge beside the couch and took out another for Edd and himself. And so the night went on, Edd wrapping himself in the sweet embrace of alcohol while they each became more and more inebriated. At one point in the night they were all laughing like hyenas, but then none of them could remember what they were laughing at, which only made them laugh harder, until Eddy fell off the couch, a fist pounding the floor as he wheezed, and tears streamed down Double Dee's face. 

Well after midnight, Ed fell asleep with his head dropped back on the cough, snoring loudly. Edd had a memory of Eddy convincing him to gargle mouthwash ("to keep your parents in the dark") which he promptly choked on and dry heaved into the sink. Seeing Edd choke up the mouthwash made Eddy laugh so hard he spit the mouthwash down his own shirt, staining it green.

The walk home declined to stay in his memory, but it seemed unlikely he had encountered his parents at all, who slipped out to work in the morning without waking him. 

* * *

Although he was glad to have hung out with his friends, Edd was regretting the drinking more and more by the second. His knees started to feel weak, shoulders caved in, and his stomach felt like it wanted to escape from his body. He was rounding the street near the creek, and, wanting to lie down in the cool shade but not wanting to look weird to passers-by, he stepped off the path and slogged through tall grass toward the water.

 _Should have worn pants_ , he chastised himself, _there's no way I won't get ticks in this grass_. The earth was soft from recent rain. Dandelion seeds caught on his socks. The overgrown green blades trailed cooling licks on his shins, despite the beating sun.

The creek was small and smelled like humans probably shouldn't be exposed to it. Later in the summer it would be a mere trickle, but just then it was a gurgling, stinky, silty gush in the gash that separated his neighborhood from the trailer park, hazy in the distance. The owner of the trailer park land had erected a pitiful fence around it at some time in the last few years, claiming the park was now "secure" as an excuse to hike rents.

Exhausted, he trudged to a spot under some trees that still cast shade toward the water and delicately folded himself down, flattening his shorts to his thighs. He dangled his legs out, over the creek, and was pleasantly surprised the find that the water wafted some cool air along its channel, a slight breeze on his calves. 

He breathed deeply to help ward off the nausea, but only wound up taking down a big gulp of creek stink, which had him recoiling backwards in a coughing fit. Embracing his slow, miserable death, he slumped back against the grass and stared up at the pale sky, giving a few more pitiful chuffs for good measure. A few white, cottony puffs made their way across the sky, chasing a wind he couldn't feel. Tree leaves shifted, alternating between casting watery shadow and blinding him with sunlight. 

Edd pulled his hat over his face and listened to the cicadas, the crickets, and the frogs from the creek, all players in a summertime symphony. He tossed an arm across his face, and restlessly tugged up the hem of his shirt with the other, not liking the way the sweat stuck it to his stomach. 

For long minutes he considered turning his head to lazily retch, but somehow, without his consent, sleep took him.

* * *

Edd awoke utterly confused. At first, he thought he was in bed in his dorm room, then realized it must be his parent's house, then realized he'd never slept in a bed that was so itchy. He tried to roll over and go back to sleep but his feet met air and there were no blankets to grab. He lifted his sleep-laden eyelids open to a reddening sky, a lop-sided triangle of birds flying past.

"Aw, so you're not dead?"

He jerked his head up so violently it made his neck ache and scrambled onto his elbows, bracing to run away. Blinking rapidly, he found a pair of willowy ivory knees before him and followed them up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just think Marie and Edd would be a really good match as adults, idk!!


	2. A Talk

"If you were dead I could probably sell the newspaper the story about finding your body for like a hundred bucks at least." Marie Kanker kneeled next to him, bemused, but a smile gleaned in her eyes. About an inch of dark blonde root showed on her hair, the classic royal blue now more of a faded cerulean. Freckles and dark, arching brows framed her almond eyes. Her short hair was all swept to one side, and the exposed ear had a trail of silver hoops gilding it.

"Wha-huh?" he stammered. Was he still asleep? People he had no reason to ever talk to often showed up in his dreams. Like the time Michael Jordan convinced him to get a hundred thousand dollar car wash. His mind oriented around what she'd just said. "Why would a newspaper pay so well?" He mindlessly felt around in the grass for his hat and clutched it back to his head.

She peered down at him, cocking her head. "A tear-jerker about finding your childhood crush's body on the banks of the river that bisects your town, which always kept you and him apart..." She lifted her palms to the sky and shrugged. "I could probably spin it into a book. A summertime thriller," Marie concluded. 

Edd stared at her, mouth slack. "This is a weird dream," he wondered aloud, and pushed himself upright to better confront her. But his stomach flipped with the movement, and he twisted from Marie, scurrying to the creek edge and - ugh, yup, there was the puke that he couldn't summon this morning. Fingers digging into the dirt, his back curled painfully, he retched into the water, adding to the filth it already carried. 

"Jeez man, are you okay?" Marie asked. He heard her scoot closer to him. Wait, what was she doing here? He was mortified, and wanted to sprint home immediately. But his newly tremoring muscles squarely ruled that option out. 

He should have just melted into his bed this morning.

He spit at the water and turned to her, wiping his mouth. "Uhm." Her eyes were wide on him. "Yeah, no, I'm completely okay." With hands on his knees, he shakily pushed himself up. His bones felt ancient. 

Marie stood with him. He was nonplussed to discover she stood quite a few inches shorter than him. When was the last time they'd even been in the same room? Maybe...freshman year? Her brows were knitted and raised in concern, though her gaze flickered toward the trailer park - to the home she was probably headed for before she saw _a body in the grass_. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," he stuttered, "I didn't mean to keep you. I'm perfectly well, thank you for your concern." He took a hasty few steps away from her. 

His cheeks grew warm. Heavens above, why did she have to find him passed out on the ground like an absolute dunce?

Her features abruptly twisted into something unreadable, before affecting a frown, looking cross. "I was just going to offer you some water, dude, I live right there." She crossed her arms. He registered that she was wearing a cropped shirt, and a glint of metal at her navel shone above her cutoff shorts. "You don't have to run away." A long chain hung around her neck, something dangling out of sight between her - 

His brain was having decidedly Unauthorized thoughts. Short circuiting. Hangover brain.

"Oh, no, no, no," he placated. He really, _really_ didn't meant to offend her. "Some water would be great, actually. I'm parched." While technically true, he was beginning to think this hangover had severed some part of his cerebellum; he could just as easily walk home. They really didn't live that far apart.

She puffed an annoyed sigh of air and moved past him, waving him along. The smell of her perfume drifted with her, although he couldn't distinguish what it was from his vomit breath. "Whatever, dweeb. C'mon." 

Edd obeyed. 

* * *

She marched them along silently, peering back at him queerly only once. He gave her a small smile when she did, at which she only squinted suspiciously before facing front again. The cicadas were almost entirely replaced by frog song by now, the sky in a long summer twilight. He noticed many things, things that he had no business noticing. That her hair was actually shorter on one side. That a tattoo peaked out on her neck. That her shorts were short enough to show the crease under her butt. He really noticed that - couldn't stop noticing it.

"Um, so, Marie." He forced his eyes forward, saw that they were approaching the "bridge". Although the creek could be jumped in many places, most preferred to take the plywood that had created an apparently-permanent bridge. "How...are you?"

She flicked her eyes to him - piercing blue, how had he never noticed? The same shade she dyed her hair. "Am I on a prank show or something?" 

"Wh-no-"

She stomped across the plywood, the sound of the wood reverberating loudly. "First, you're dead on the river," she listed off, holding up a finger while he cautiously crossed to meet her. "Then you're sick, then you're running from me like I'm a rabid animal, and now you want know how I _am_?" 

She waved her four fingers at him - Edd felt rather like she was flipping him off, though - as she led him along the fence. At least he knew exactly what she was thinking. He felt confident enough to walk next to her and meet her gaze.

Edd scratched at the back of his neck. "I am sorry - it's - I'm hungover - and you surprised me. And I was embarrassed because I vomited." Did he always stutter this bad? 

Hell, did he always second guess himself this much? 

He tugged on his ball cap. It did nothing to shade the sun when it was this low. 

Marie pursed her lips. "Hmmm," was all she replied, facing forward. 

Edd noticed they were _outside_ the trailer park. "Where...are we going?" he asked, pointing at the fence that they were on the wrong side of.

"Oh, me and Lee got a place together last year. And rent is cheaper outside the fence," she chuckled, as if remembering a joke.

"Oh?" Edd was surprised. "And May?" 

She pointed a thumb back at the park, as they rounded the fence near some trees. "She stayed with our mom." The other half of the trailer park came into view, a few trailers scattered around. A family was out grilling, the kids chasing each other. A couple sat in beach chairs, beer bottles in their hands and a stereo between them.

Marie led him to a trailer near the woods, and, he had to admit, his throat felt ragged and awful. Sweat, dried down multiple times now, left him sticky and uncomfortable in his body. 

She dug keys from pockets that stuck out from the bottom of her shorts and swung the trailer door in with a _slam_. "Welcome to my humble abode," she japed and stepped in. 

Edd hesitated. Did she want him to come in? Or wait outside? He interlaced his fingers nervously. He could make out a kitchen counter through the doorway.

Taking a deep breath through his nose and setting his mouth, he marched brazenly up the steps, into the trailer. 

* * *

He didn't know where to look first. Marie was tugging a floral pitcher out of the fridge, which she shut with her hip. Art was plastered the fridge - and the cabinets and walls. Some paintings, some collages, some of what looked like magazine cutouts, too much for Edd to focus on any one detail. The windows had splashes of color on them - crystals and stained glass ornaments stuck to them. Plants overflowed near the window over the kitchen sink.

"Wow," Edd remarked, eyes wide as he tried to take it all in. 

Marie cracked ice cubes into mismatched glasses and poured. She met his gaze with a grin. "Not what you were expecting?" 

"It's really wonderful, Marie," he replied with awe, and stepped toward her to take the offered glass.

She turned away and leaned back against the counter, sipping from her glass. He might have thought she was blushing, but it may have been the colored light cast from the windows.

Edd buried his face in his glass, looming in the middle of the kitchen. He was once again surprised as blessedly cool lemonade met his tongue. Unable to stop, he drained the glass. 

"Damn dude, you been in the dessert?"

"Ha, that was definitely what I needed." 

"Refill?" Marie lifted the pitcher in offer, and he held his cup out gratefully. 

"Which one of you is the artist?" Edd asked her as she poured, his ice cubes tinkling. 

"Lee mostly. Well, she does most of the painting, anyways." Marie waved a hand at the nearest cabinet, which had a few pastoral landscapes and women's portraits. "She likes fashion, mostly, wants to be a designer. But I don't know if -" Marie cut herself off and bit her lower lip, brows raised as if she had surprised herself. "Er, well, whatever," she mumbled and slurped another sip. 

Edd drained half his glass in a gulp. "How do you guys..." He scratched at his hairline, not even sure exactly what he was trying to ask. "What do you do?" he said flatly. 

_Oh, smooth one, Eddward._ But, inelegance aside, he was completely baffled. How did they afford this place? He'd run the numbers, and there was no rational reason for him to leave his parent's until he was through college - or longer. But were they even in college?

"Umm," Marie intoned, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. That action felt...oddly sensual, her plump, pink lips still wet, and Edd glued his eyes back on the cabinets while she continued. "Like for work? Well, Lee does some modelling, like I said..." Had she said that? "But mostly she works at the Gap," she sneered, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Not a big fan of...um, malls?" He was now eyeing the chairs at the small kitchen table. The sugary lemonade did wonders, but a second nap sounded great. He heard kids yelling through the half-open door.

Marie heaved a beleaguered sigh. "No, it's...whatever," she dismissed again, waving a hand. "And I do secretary stuff at the dentist, but mostly go to school." 

"Oh? Where do you go?" Edd vaguely remembered her winning some sort of award senior year, but couldn't picture her as some sort of straight-laced accountant.

"Just the community college." She walked passed him to slip into a seat at the table, and that perfume hit him again. A bright citrus, with a hint of musk. Plus smoke, something sharp. She smelled...like a summer afternoon. 

He took the opportunity to refill his glass and joined her at the small, two-chair table. A crystal refracted the setting sun across the little nook, casting rainbows on the vibrant walls. Black and gold nail polish stained the table.

"What do you study?" 

She chortled, and swept her hand - with black nail polish - through her hair. "Is this a job interview?" 

"Oh, no, sorry - " He was being weird, so nosy for no reason - 

"It's fine, it's fine," Marie laughed, leaning back in her chair, the rainbows shifting across the plains of her face. "I like English. Maybe journalism. I just take writing classes, basically." She shrugged. 

He suddenly remembered that bit of news from senior year. "That's right!" Edd smacked a hand to his forehead. "You won that English award senior year. Your name was on the school marquee." 

She smirked. "I got _three_ awards, and don't you forget it. One for the newspaper, one for the English department, one for field hockey." 

Edd sat back, searching his memory. "What did you do for the newspaper?" he asked, tracing the rim of his lemonade glass, where the corners of a little diamond pattern met.

"Huge scandal." Marie twirled a finger in the air. "The district test scores jumped really sharply about a decade ago. Right around the time we got a new superintendent." Her fingers threaded through her hair, pushing it behind her ear, eyes bright. "I asked some questions, you know, to some people. Read some records. Real afternoon-special type shit." She sat forward suddenly, elbows on the table. "No one got arrested, though. But if you ask me?" She cocked her head. "If a big time newspaper had got this story? Heads would roll," she declared, slashing a finger across her throat. 

Edd couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm. "Well, you definitely have the spark for journalism."

Marie giggled. "Well, what do _you_ do, Eddward? Or do you still go by Double Dee?" She cocked her head, blue hair dangling.

Wait, did she just giggle? Was Marie Kanker _giggling_ at him?

Finding his glass very interesting, he wrapped his hands around it and thumbed along its triangular grooves, eyeing the dripping condensation. "I - I'm a student. Full time. Erm. I haven't decided on my major. Yeah." 

_Wow, Eddward, at this rate, she may think you've even graduated middle school._

"Well, duh," Marie decreed. "Weren't you valedictorian? Where do you go? Hartmouth, or some genius place?"

Edd slunk down in his seat, remembering that he had had to give a speech at their high school graduation. His face warmed, deeply embarrassed at his entire life. He nervously toyed with the cup, clinking his fingernails against it.

"I...gotoPenrose," he said in a deluge. "I just got back yesterday." 

Marie tilted her head back and barked a laugh. Her canines showed when she smiled that big. That little necklace lifted out her shirt, revealing it to be a column of pinkish crystal. "UPen? I knew you'd go someplace like that."

"Wh-what does that mean?" He could feel the blood beating in his cheeks. Did she think he was pretentious? He felt obscenely lucky for his life and education. Granted, he couldn't afford his own place right now if his life depended on it, so she was doing pretty well for herself, too.

"You know what I mean. I bet you just looked up the top ten schools in the country and sent out your applications like that."

"No - it was more complicated than that. I looked up the top ten engineering schools," Edd chuckled, tugging at his hat. "But - that doesn't mean I'm actually doing well. At school, I mean. So, I think I'm not so smart at all, as it were," he word vomited, unable to stop, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. _Why_ did he have to tell her that?

And why were they having a normal conversation at all?

"But, what I don't understand," he pivoted, his brain catching up to his mouth, "if _you_ did so well in high school..." he trailed off. He met her gaze, and she had a brow raised. "If you want to do college, that is...why did you go to community college? Even if you didn't get an academic scholarship, if you were so good at field hockey - well - I don't mean to be presumptuous." But holy gods, he was being a _dick_. _Shut your mouth right now, you jerk_. "You just seemed capable of a lot to me, back then. From what little I knew about you. That's all."

Marie looked away, eyes wide, if he had slapped her. Her gaze roamed the view of the park through the little window. A muscle in her jaw worked, the shifting lineaments stark in the evening sun. 

"It just didn't work out that way." She lapsed back into silence, still looking out the window.

Edd drew a slow breath through his nose. "You seem to restrain yourself from speaking very often," he said quietly, absently putting a finger to his chin. That must have been the third time she'd visibly held herself back. 

Pale shoulders straightened and she looked back at him. The intensity of her gaze made /him/ sit up straighter. "Well, aren't you observant?" she sneered. 

Abruptly, the trailer park door swung wide open with a _bang_ , making Edd leap out of his seat as he spun to look at - Lee, bundles of strawberry blonde curls atop her head, a foot still raised from kicking in the door, dressed like a Gap model from head to toe. "Oh, a visitor?" she taunted, a manicured eyebrow raised at him above eyes that gleamed predatorily. "How exciting for us all."

"Uh-", Edd stammered, straightening further. "I was just leaving, actually."

"I'm just stopping by, no need -"

"Very nice talking to you, Marie," he said, turning to nod toward a stony Marie. "Thank you kindly for the lemonade."

He shuffled awkwardly around Lee, who gracefully arced out his way, amused. The setting sun was now on the horizon, blinding, and he tucked his head as he rushed out, back toward town. 

He heard cackling before the door banged shut behind him. 

* * *

While he showered the filth of the day off of himself (again), his nerves ratcheted around his head. _Holy fuck_ , he thought. _That_ was an entirely unexpected turn of events. _Marie Kanker_ , the name clanged through him. Whom he almost definitely hadn't spoken to in close to five years. He remembered that they _did_ have English together freshman year - honors English, which he hated but survived. But, he guessed she probably didn't take the advanced math and science classes after that, since he'd pretty much had class with the same people over and over, and she wasn't one of them. 

But he did remember seeing her in the halls - she was athletic, and uniquely noticeable in shirts with her surname on the back. She was usually walking with a gaggle of girls in similar garb. Her hair, blue even then, was more often than not in braids down her scalp, longer than it was today. 

He tried and failed to summon an image of what she last looked like when he saw her senior year. She was really just one more person that he used to know, and then she was gone from his life. Until today. And now the image of her with a crystal between her breasts and shorts that didn't cover her ass was all he could see. The sharp shoulders, broad but distinctly feminine. That necklace hugging her collarbones like a river hugs its winding turns. The muscular thighs that jiggled a little bit with each step, flesh fluttering up from her knee to beneath those shorts. 

He wrenched the nob to its extreme and took a very, very cold shower.

* * *

Edd's parents returned from work, and they all enjoyed a bountiful dinner of leftovers together. Or, rather, his parents had become very enamored with "meal prepping", and so they each enjoyed a reheated tupperwear from the stack in the fridge. 

It wasn't until he returned to his room after dinner that he noticed - The Cup. A glass, sugary residue still at the bottom, his own lip prints on the brim. A diamond pattern etched throughout. That he'd clutched so tightly in his hand when Lee appeared that he'd walked straight out with it. And, so caught up in replaying the events of the day, hadn't even realized he'd brought home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> could the burn,,,,,get any slower ??


	3. The Cup

Lee plunked groceries down on the counter, still laughing. "What the fuck was that kid doing here? Y'all boinkin'?" 

Marie sunk into her chair, crossing her arms. "Man, I don't even fuckin' know. Weirdass. Whatever," she dismissed, and moved to help unload the groceries, which exposed their bad attempt at going vegan. 

"Well, I'm going over to Phil's tonight, anyway," Lee said, dropping the conversation and stacking cans in a cabinet. "I'm really just stopping by to get changed."

"Why? Gap clothes not good enough for the Gap manager? Oh nice," Marie remarked, pulling a rotisserie chicken out the grocery bag. Okay, they were _really_ bad vegans. 

"Shut up, dweeb." Lee rolled her eyes. It was no secret that Marie had, ah, _complicated_ feelings toward Phil. "I'm trying to look hot, you shithead." 

Marie considered if there was a day since her sister hit puberty that she wasn't _the_ hot girl. She folded up the empty grocery bag. "Oh yeah, I just did laundry if you wanna borrow that black crop top." She watched her sister head to the bathroom - between Marie's room and the kitchen - peeling off clothes as she went. 

"Oh, shit yeah. I will, thanks." Lee shot her a finger gun.

"Will you be out all night?"

Lee flipped the shower on and combed her fingers through her hair. "Oh yeah, I'll probably be out all weekend. But, I bought beer," she winked, "so you won't miss me too bad." 

"As if I would," Marie rejected, and headed past Lee, who hopped in the shower, to grab the crop top. "I'll leave this on your bed. Also, I'm borrowing your laptop." 

"Oh, grab me a towel too, ple-ease!" Lee said peeking out, curls dripping water. 

Marie swapped the crop top for a towel and grabbed Lee's laptop off her bed, setting it next to Marie's own on the kitchen counter. 

"Wait, what _was_ that guy doing here?" Lee called from the shower. Marie turned the laptop on, entering Lee's password. "That was the kid from the 'sac you liked as a kid, right?" 

"God, Lee, that was ages ago," Marie dismissed. Although, she had brought up that stupid crush to Eddward rather quickly. Marie navigated to an old episode of a teen drama, and positioned Lee's laptop on the counter so that she could see the screen while she grabbed her own laptop and sat at the kitchen table with it. "I don't know, he was like dead on the ground by the creek but I guess he was just hungover. He puked right in front of me so I invited him over for lemonade." 

"Wow, what a stand-up citizen of the community you are, Marie," Lee drawled. 

"Shush, I'm watching _Lake Shore Circle_!" Marie pulled up her homework assignment while the corny intro-song played on Lee's laptop. 

"Ohmygod, _trash_ show!" 

"Yeah, good trash, bitch!" Marie leaned back into her chair, the sun finally sinking behind the trailer park fence, and sipped what remained of her lemonade. 

\---

Edd preemptively felt like a doofus. The Cup - cleaned - clutched in his hands, he marched back through the neighborhood. He'd waited to announce he was taking a walk until he was sure his parents would be too tired to volunteer to join him, grabbed that cursed cup, and headed out without a second thought. The temperature had dropped with the sun, although the humidity remained. 

He took the short cut behind Ed's house. Both Ed and Eddy had texted him earlier to hang out again, although his hangover was still too in control and he declined. Honestly, his hangover must still be in control, he thought as he walked to _Marie Kanker's_ home.

The creek felt veritably chilly as he slowly crossed the bridge in the dark. He'd hate to drunkenly find his way home over this death trap. 

His hands began to feel clammy as his actions caught up to him. Walking along the fence, he wiped them on his jeans. But he _must_ return this cup. He _stole_ it. Like a _moron_.

He prayed Lee wouldn't be home. Maybe Marie wouldn't be home, and he could leave it on her doorstep. That would be absolutely normal. 

The nearby forest likewise suppressed the temperature and gooseflesh raised on Edd's exposed arms. He rounded the corner of the fence and the trailers came into view. Tugging his (now backwards) hat down, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, heading for the tree line.

Although he walked with faux-confidence, he suddenly realized that all of the trailers looked the same at night. There was no one outside to ask for directions, and he slowed as panic began to rise. 

He was deciding to turn back and just forget the entire affair, when he rounded a trailer - and there she was. She sat on the steps outside her door. The light over the door cast a dim, yellow light down on her, bleeding her wet, cerulean hair to light green. In a loose t-shirt and running shorts, her mouth was on a light beer, the rest of the six pack at her bare feet. 

Blue eyes snapped to meet his gaze and Edd stopped dead. "Uh..."

No, this hangover had most certainly removed his brain from his head. 

"You lost or somethin'?" Marie asked dryly, the silver can still at her lips. 

Edd replied, wide-eyed, "Apparently not." His feet started moving again, toward Marie, the grass soft under his sneakers. "I, um..."

Marie looked him up and down and took a swig of her beer. Her brows were creased in genuine confusion. 

"I stole this," he blurted, holding the cup out like a child showing their parent a cool rock they found.

Recognition registered in Marie's eyes. "Oh," she paused. She made no move to take the cup, although he was standing (weirdly) too far away from her regardless. "We'd have been out a serious fifty cents without that." 

"Uh..." He looked at the cup in his hands. It wasn't fine china or anything - it didn't even match the cup Marie had used. But he _took_ it. 

But it was also dark out, and most people would be asleep, and he was a dumbass.

"Yeah." All that remained was an overwhelming urge to flee. "Well, I'll just return this then - "

"You wanna beer or somethin'?" 

Edd paused with his foot in the air, mouth open. Marie pulled out another beer and held it out. 

"Uhm. Okay."

Brain = off.

He walked to Marie and took the offered can, his fingertips grazing her nails. She scooted to the edge of the stairs, making space for Edd. 

Edd tried to sit far away on his side of the stairs, but it was impossible not to bump into her. Marie crossed her legs to afford more room for him, leaning her elbows back on the steps.

He looked at the cup in his left hand and beer in his right hand, and leaned forward to drop the cup into an empty space in the six pack with a _thunk_. "There you go." He turned to look at her, popping the can. "My debt is paid."

Azure eyes, backlit by the light above, watched him warily. She turned her face to the sky, as if to watch the stars that light pollution drowned out. Edd felt suddenly voyeuristic for watching her in this quiet, nighttime moment and he looked away, scanning the trailer park. Crickets chirped all around them. The nearby trailers had a few lights on behind their windows, although he couldn't see anyone moving inside.

"Nah, you owe me for the lemonade. And now the beer."

He looked back at her and found her smirking down her nose at him. He chuckled, again surprised by just how easily she could catch him off guard. "Alright. I'll pay you back next time, then."

Marie's smile fell and she looked back up at the dark sky. Her brows furrowed. "D'you actually think you're dumb now?" she asked.

Edd thought he might fall off the steps. "What?" 

"Y'know." She leaned her head back between her shoulders, digging her elbows into the top step. "You said you're bad at school now. Do you think you lost it?" Marie turned those eyes back on him, and they pierced Edd's heart like a sharpened knife.

He rubbed at his chest, looking down at the can between his knees. He sipped the beer and found it warm and unpleasant. He took another, longer pull, trying to convince himself his heart wasn't squeezing into a fold between universes inside his chest. "Uhm..." Thoughts percolated through his mind too quickly to grasp onto, like overcooked spaghetti through a colander.

Marie quietly sipped her beer. The lights in a nearby trailer went out and a firefly flitted past. Edd looked to the sky and could just barely make out a major constellation. The night air felt so wide and open, and Marie so...nonthreatening. 

Well, he had a feeling she could pose a serious mental and physical threat, if she chose to. 

Maybe she reminded him of a cat, in that - claws lurked within her fine bones, but if they were out, then they likely were already buried in you. No, if Marie had wanted to insult him, she would have gone for the jugular, he knew. A woman who was inexorably straightforward. She had asked that question sincerely, beyond a doubt.

That pure curiosity, the utter lack of ulterior motive, it felt...comforting. Even if the question itself - of his intellect - tormented him. Kept him up at night. Woke him up in the mornings. A foundation that was and always had been, cracked. He wanted to answer Marie truthfully. Because she had asked, truthfully. 

And because...he wasn't afraid of how she would respond. 

He could hear his heart in his ears, muscles tensed to the point of ache. "I don't know," he admitted quietly. It was such a _nothing_ admission, such a throwaway phrase, but its truth hit straight at the core of who he was, took his breath away. He didn't want to look at her as shame burned at his eyes, consumed him. He curled inwards, clutching at his hat to block her view. "I feel like I lost it. I feel like I'm cracked up." 

Marie was silent and still. The crickets and rustling leaves were the only sounds outside the torrent of Edd's thoughts. He felt frozen, like his fight or flight response had kicked in but broken, leaving him paralyzed. 

A rustling beside him, and Marie shifted forward, her bare knee knocking into his. Edd just looked at his shoes, vision swimming.

"What happened?" Marie asked in a small, feminine voice, so unassuming that it might have broken Edd's straining heart in two.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

Edd scrubbed at his warm face, wiping tears as if he could wipe thoughts away. "Yeah, but I hate it." His voice felt like he was speaking through a straw. "I hate that it all became so hard. I don't understand why. I don't know if it was just one bad midterm or if I was just a ticking time bomb," his voice cracked. "I don't know why I'm so fucked up."

"You're not fucked up," Marie interrupted kindly. 

"Yes, I am." Edd looked at his hands, tried to scratch the color on the can off. Lying to Marie would have felt like lying to a priest. Like some higher power would find out, and punish him for it. "My roommate thought I should be put in a madhouse." He squeezed his eyes shut, but he could see the memories like a film on repeat in his mind. "I wanted to not sleep so I could study, so I did. I stayed up for days. A lot more Adderall than I should admit...then I'd get trashed all weekend. I just couldn't figure out how to do better, how to _feel_ better." The words were a stream of consciousness. "I started skipping class so I could study more. How does that make sense, huh? Skip class to learn more for class? What kind of idiot does that?"

But there was so much more. Maybe if he could keep things organized, follow an exact routine, then it would be like a key was turned and success would follow - everything would be fine. But he could never keep the routine. Different foods at the cafeteria, his preferred computer already occupied in the lab, his roommate clicking his pen too fast - or too slow - an assignment taking days too long, covering material he hadn't prepared. Each time, he'd find himself gasping in a bathroom stall - his only private space for a complete meltdown - tearing at his hair, nails in his scalp, feeling for all the world like he should just disappear. Just be frozen in a snow storm. Just make everything stop. 

"I can't stop - freaking out. My GPA..." but he was too embarrassed to even admit it to Marie. He didn't want her to think so lowly of him, despite what he was admitting. "I don't think I have control of my _brain_ anymore. Of anything.

"I did better in the spring, though," he added urgently, abruptly meeting Marie's wide eyes. "I did do better." Desperation to have to her _believe_ in him rose up in his throat. To not see how deep of a fuck-up he was. "But it's not good enough." He couldn't even lie to himself about that. "And I don't know...I don't know if I can do it." He felt like he was pleading with Marie, but he didn't know what he was begging for.

Marie searched his face. She pushed a half-wet bundle of hair behind her ear. "That's...pretty rough stuff Eddward. I can tell it really matters to you." She put a painted nail to her lips and gnawed at it, gazing at the six pack at her feet. "And I'm real sorry to hear you're not happy." 

"Oh," Edd stuttered, caught off guard again, already wishing to stuff the heated admission back inside his mouth. "I don't know if happy is the right word." He watched her chew on that nail, her bottom lip compressed. "I love my friends and family, and I know I'm very lucky for all that I have." He scratched at his neck, feeling like he could breath again. "But I guess that's also why I'm so frustrated. I have it so good, and I'm still..." He laughed joylessly, throwing a hand up, "Fucking it up."

Marie looked contemplative and turned back to him. "You seen a shrink?"

"Huh?"

"A psych? Like, laying on a couch and talking about wanting to fuck your parents, that sort of stuff?"

"Oh, well no." Edd was surprised by her question. Always surprised by Marie. His mom had pleaded with him to see a school counselor on phone calls home, but he just...hadn't. Looking for the phone number, placing the call, scheduling an appointment, and then actually talking to a stranger...the mental load was just too much on top of his already overwhelming responsibilities. "I mean, the problem is me, so...I should be able to solve the problem." He cocked his head, hoping to convince her of the logic. 

"That..." Marie covered her mouth with her hand, but he could see her eyes crinkle. She chuckled, not unkindly, "Is really stupid, Double Dee." 

And he laughed too, draining his can and placing it down. "Okay. I guess that's true." He felt wholly defused.

"Look, don't get me wrong," she continued tenderly. "It's real noble to want to solve your own problems, I guess. But it sounds to me...like not asking for help might actually _be_ your problem." She drained her can as well, dropping it back inside the box.

"Hm." Edd had to admit that was a new way of analyzing the problem, although the idea of discussing his depravity with a doctor didn't bring him any relief. "That's interesting. And a very astute observation, Marie. Thank you." 

"Yeah, well, don't mention it," Marie sighed, stretching her arms over her head. A useless part of Edd's barely functioning brain noted she was bra-less - probably in her pajamas. "I'm just a lady on a stoop giving advice." 

"But you spoke with keen perception." Edd paused. He'd already thrown caution to the wind and, well, he'd might as well continue speaking from his heart. "You really do seem to have a vibrant mind, Marie. Sharp, but...considerate."

Her mouth twisted and she pursed her lips, pushing pink cheeks up. "Ha ha, well, whatever, man," she dismissed, and reached into her shorts. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the waistband, flashing that navel ring once again. Packing the cigarettes against her palm, she nodded at him. "You want one?" 

"Ah, no, thank you. I don't think I've had enough to drink for that."

She snorted and pulled one out. "Lucky you." With a hand shielding against the faint summer breeze, she lit the cigarette between her lips and puffed out. The smell transported Edd to college basements and 3 a.m. afties. She did have a smokers voice, he thought, although he knew she was born with it. It was a raspy, late-night college radio host's voice. It was, frankly, entirely endearing.

Although Marie apparently didn't find him at all dramatic for his big confession, he noted, "If _you_ want to speak unburdened - I mean, you've listened to me ramble like a madman. If you ever want to..." He shrugged with a nonchalance he didn't feel. "Just talk. I'll return the favor. No judgement." 

Marie looked him up and down slowly, smoke trailing out of her grimacing mouth. She looked like she wanted to hit him for suggesting something so egregious. Like she could see through his pretend coolness and assess the weight of his soul. She turned away, elbows on her knees, and took another drag. Ashing her cigarette in a little bowl that looked like it permanently lived on these steps, she said into the night, "My ex got me into smoking."

When she didn't continue, he asked, "Do you regret it?" 

She finally turned those sharp blue eyes back on him, her half-dry hair looking like a wild lion's mane floating around her fierce expression. "I regret every damn thing I did with that pig," she spat.

Her sudden intensity startled Edd, and he wished he _did_ take a cigarette, just to have an excuse to look away from her gaze. 

But she looked forward first, a fire extinguished. "I shoulda been competitive for lacrosse scholarships. Of everything he took - everything I _let_ him take -" She scowled, teeth out like an animal. "I hate him the most for that," she nearly growled. She ashed the cigarette again, not bothering with the ashtray and dropping it on the stairs. Her mouth curled in disgust. She turned on him like a viper and hissed, "And I don't want your pity."

Edd didn't back down, although he exposed his palms to her. "No, I'm not...I'm just trying to understand." How could he take a lacrosse scholarship from her? Break her leg? "Who is this guy? When did you meet?" He had no idea she had even had a boyfriend. 

"We met at work. Summer before senior year. He was my manager." Her jaw was working so hard he was surprised he couldn't heard her teeth grinding.

"At the dentist's office?"

"No, no..." She absently reached into the six pack and offered another to him before popping her own with one hand, cradling the can between her knees. He really shouldn't drink any more. But he popped the can, an attempt at camaraderie. "I worked at the diner, Mamree's, down Main Street, on Locust..." She lapsed into silence again, a knee bouncing up and down. 

"Did he go to school with us?" Edd wasn't much of a social butterfly back then, but maybe he would know the guy's name.

Marie sucked on her cigarette, shaking her head vigorously. "He was older," she breathed out smoke. "He was twenty-two when we met." She shook her head again, as if he had asked something. "I was just a stupid little shit. Just an absolute idiot. Really immature not to see through his bullshit."

Edd pushed back his impulse to comment on the age gap. "Even if that were true, Marie, you were only, what? Seventeen?" He shook his own head. "I'm inclined forgive you for lacking worldliness." Even at nineteen, Edd still felt like he was only just learning how the world really turns, how to date and treat women. 

"Well, that doesn't really matter, does it?" She said tightly, tensing. "Because I made those choices and they still affect me. And I don't just get a re-do now that I know better." She slumped back, a deep frown creasing her face, and scratched at her brow. The cigarette trailed smoke past her hair. "I just wanted a cool boyfriend to smoke weed with on my breaks. I didn't sign up for - the rest of it."

Edd wondered how someone actively drinking and smoking could suddenly look so young. A breeze rustled her hair, her shorts. He wasn't so naive as to not to read between the lines, but...she'd left a lot unsaid. "Did he..." Edd almost didn't want to know. And maybe it was gauche to ask. "Did he - hurt you?" His voice was small. 

She dropped her hand and her eyes scanned her lap. She looked up at him with a bleak expression and held out her cigarette. "I don't wanna finish it." 

Edd took it from her. 

"No," she said resolutely. "At least, well..." She stretched a foot out, spreading and curling her toes. "It's kinda hard to think about that time. My mind was so...consumed." Her nail found its way back between her lips. "It's hard to understand what I...wanted. And what I was compelled to want." She dipped her finger in accumulated beer on the top of her can and drew a circle with the fluid on the inside of her knee. "Like, I really felt, at the time, that I was totally quitting lacrosse because - it was for the best. But...I just did it 'cause - _he_ was mad I didn't spend more time with him. And I was afraid he'd leave me." 

Edd took a drag on the half-spent cigarette and felt his pupils dilate and heart rate pick up. He looked at Marie's face and his vision narrowed to the wobbly tear that formed on the edge of her eyelashes, ash blonde. 

He felt like he was holding his breath. Waiting for the other foot to fall. He listened, enthralled, trying to string together the clues she was laying out and fill in the gaps of what she skimmed over.

"And if he left me...I guess that's the whole thing, isn't it? He'd say those things, but the reason I believed them, was that they were already inside me. That I couldn't do better. That college was - that I'm too cocky. Too over-confident. But like, just trying to go there to cheat on him, also? He'd say that a lot. I though he was just insecure. I guess he was. But isn't everyone?" She wiped an oversized sleeve across her face, although the wetness clung to her lashes like dew. "I felt bad for him, for that. But I felt bad for me, too. There really _was_ just no other option for me, then, but him.

"When we moved in together," she continued, and Edd registered that she must have moved out _during_ high school, "I guess I thought it would fix things. Because he would know I wasn't messing around with anyone else. But it got worse. He was so mad I was always at field hockey, or clubs. In the winter, I quit everything but newspaper." She blinked and a tear dropped to her thigh. She ran the back of her hand across her cheek. "I guess that's all I want to say about that right now." She fell silent, toying with her fingernails absently.

Edd finished the cigarette, snuffing it out in the little bowl, but didn't take his eyes off Marie. The nervous energy that permeated his existence had sharpened, like a razor. He flexed his fingers restlessly. The word "grooming" floated through his mind, but he wasn't especially well-read in...

Abuse.

"Anyways, I guess Lee did the hero thing." She turned those blue eyes back on him. The reddened whites brought out a green hue in the outer irises, made the blue glow. A smile touched her lips and she gave her shoulder a wry shrug. "We fuckin' fought like animals that year. She /hated/ him, but I wouldn't listen. I..." She turned back to the sky, contemplative. "The choice had to come from me, to leave. But it was the only choice I felt I couldn't make." She closed her eyes, leaning back on her elbows again as if she were on the grass at a concert. "Lee told me she fought with mom and wanted to get out, but couldn't afford a place on her own. That was last year. She was lying, of course, but...here we are." 

Marie blew a stray hair off her face and brightly turned to him. "I guess it kinda did feel good to talk about that, ha ha," she chortled. "At least the end part with Lee. That's my favorite part." 

But Edd didn't feel good. 

He sucked in a rigid breath, muscles tense despite Marie's relaxed demeanor. "Marie..." he choked out, voice ragged. He willed himself to meet her eyes with as much earnest emotion as he could summon around rage coiled tightly in his chest. "I am _so_ sorry that that happened to you." He shook his head, shock and grief rocketing through him. "I don't know if you're...if you're acting cool right now or -" Edd wiped a frustrated hand over his ball cap. Even if she was just _acting_ chipper, shouldn't he let her? Who the fuck was he to interfere, if she coped by smiling and laughing? "Gosh, Marie. I'm really sorry. You didn't deserve that." He didn't know how to say what he meant. He didn't even know what he felt, but something in his chest was clawing to get out.

She knocked her knee against his, resting it there. "Don't get all worked up, man. I said no pity," she said without bite. Her beer was abandoned, and she toyed with the jewelry at her navel.

Edd drained his beer, his lips feelings lose. "It's not - pity. I'm - I feel - I'm _angry_." He pushed his knee back into hers, instinctively reaching out to touch her, but restraining himself. He rested his fist on his own knee. "I'm sorry. It's not about me. But I can't believe - this guy - I must have passed you in the hall every day. And you - you -"

"I _what_?" 

"You just wanted to do a _sport_ ," he blurted, pushing his fingers onto her knee cap, which was cold and hard. "You wanted to do a sport and you _did_ write that newspaper story and you _did_ win those awards and this - this _fucking_ guy -" Edd felt feral. He felt like he was trying to argue a point, but about what? And to who? "He tried to snuff you out. Like a candle," he finished weakly. 

He thought about all the times over those four years that he'd seen her in field hockey and lacrosse jerseys in the hall. He couldn't picture her with _anything_ else on, or walking with anyone but her teammates next to her. And when he'd tried to imagine her senior year and failed...it was because he _hadn't_ seen her, not as she really was, or wanted to be.

And he thought about how entirely certain he had been in high school that he would go to college - there was no alternative. What would it have taken to break him of that idea? If he felt so shattered and precarious under the weight of just his own issues, what would it be like to have someone whispering in his ear that he really _wasn't_ worthy of UPen? That he really _should_ just drop out, and yield to someone who purported to know better?

Marie looked impassively at the hand on her knee. "Eddward, I think," she started carefully, sliding her finger tips along her thigh to just barely graze his skin. She lifted her eyes to his and an impish grin spread across her lips. "I think you're just distracting from your _own_ issues." 

Once again taken aback, Edd belted a laugh and knit his fingers behind his neck, elbows wide, the tension in his chest draining away. Christ, she could shift his mood so easily. He felt simultaneously hollowed out and renewed. "Another carefully laid plot, foiled by Marie Kanker," he noted dryly, earning a giggle from Marie. 

Shifting minutely, Marie's knuckles rested against the side of his knee. Edd's attention narrowed to those points of contact - their legs flat against each other, pressing together, a band of warmth against him. Marie's fingers... _suggesting_ that he reach down and grab them. 

He suddenly became aware that all the other trailers' lights had gone dark. The moon had climbed over the roofs in the distance, further obscuring the stars. 

Relaxing his arms with his heart in his throat, Edd rested the pads of his fingers on the back of her hand, feeling her thin tendons. His heart was beating out of his chest. Anticipation lit his veins. "Marie -"

"Do you like _Lake Shore Circle_?" Marie cut him off. Her cheeks looked a little pink as she smiled up at him nonchalantly. She turned her hand over and touched their fingertips together. The way her eyes roamed his face, half-lidded... 

Edd loosely interlaced their fingers and stroked his thumb along her wrist, blue veins peeking through. "I...that ancient teen drama?" 

"Yeah!" 

His own face felt warm. "I might have seen a few reruns but I haven't really watched it. Why? Do you like it?" 

She was close enough for him to see each of her eyebrow hairs and eyelashes. "I'm _obsessed_ and it's so unhealthy. There's just so much delicious drama. What kind of TV do you like?" 

Edd bit his cheek, eyes on the bow of her upper lip and the creases on her plump, lower lip. "I watch an embarrassing amount of documentaries. But recently I did start _Kingdom of the Witch_."

She tightened her grip on his fingers. "Oh my god, I just started that -"

"It's so good!"

" _So_ good! Did you see that twist -"

"No! Not at all!"

"Oh my god, me neither," Marie laughed, and he felt her breath on his face - mint and beer and ash. 

Edd lapsed into silence, hearing his own breath over the crickets beyond them. 

As if he had never felt nervous or uncertain in his life, he reach up to her cheek. Knuckles grazed her skin as he scooped a stray blue hair off her face. Her eyelids fluttered, and he felt her breath on his palm. Mesmerized, he tucked it behind her ear, trailing his thumb along her helix, the one without piercings, admiring the complexity. He thought he heard her gasp, and she watched him from beneath hooded eyes. 

It was remarkable, how the rest of the world felt so remote when they were so close.

Sliding his hand down, he cupped her jaw in his palm and trailed his thumb along her cheek, surprised by how warm and soft she felt. He searched her eyes intently, looking for hesitation, and found only bald desire staring back at him.

And then, Marie moved into him, and their lips were together. 

And she was so wonderfully warm and so deliciously soft, her summertime scent washing over him. The kiss might have taken his breath away. His fingers drifted easily into her hair, silken and - the source of that citrus scent, he realized. 

She made a quiet, satisfied moan and goaded his lips open with her own. Their tongues found each other, hot and wet, and Marie pulled their hands apart to trail fingers up his chest and behind his neck, pulling him to her hungrily. Her fingernails curled into hairs at the nape of his neck, sneaking under his hat. 

Edd groaned into her mouth, knitting his other hand into the crown of her hair. He broke the kiss, feeling like his insides were molten lava about to overflow, and kissed both her cheeks carefully.

"Come inside," she whispered, and kissed him again. She gripped his shirt and pulled him closer.

Edd replied without hesitation. "Okay." Only the essential parts of his brain remained. Right now, he only wanted to kiss her, and feel her, and hear her moan. 

He would do whatever she asked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some good ol' fashion PG-13 KISSIN'!!!!!!!!!! 😎🤙


	4. The F**k (I)

Kissing him again before pulling away, she looked at him intently. "Will you get the beer for me?" She stood and walked up the stairs, Edd watching her calves and ankles working, feet bare.

Edd grabbed the six pack and gathered their empties and followed Marie inside. 

The only light inside came from down the hall - Marie's room - and the ambient light through the windows. He deposited the box on the counter and squeezed the remaining beers into a surprisingly well-stocked fridge, near a half-finished hummus container. 

Marie stood at the sink drinking a glass of water, dimly limned by the faint light. Edd grabbed The Cup from where he'd left it in the six pack and made to do the same. 

She was directly in front of the faucet, and maybe it was the alcohol taking hold, but he rested his hand beside Marie on the counter as he reached around her to turn the sink on. He didn't touch her. But his body wrapped around hers as he filled his cup, the trickle of water the only sound.

Marie twisted around, looking up at him, her face half-lit. He could feel the heat off her body.

Edd drained his cup, stubbornly not looking at her until he was done - and then an impatient Marie yanked Edd down by his collar and their mouths met again, harder and needier than before. Her tongue moved on his, wet and sensual. With an arm around her back, Edd stepped into Marie, pulling her soft body against his. Her hands reached under his shirt, nails scratching at his spine, up to his shoulder blades. The sensation was hair-raising. He braced a hand on the cabinets as Marie, nails in his muscles, forced his body nearly on top of hers. Her face was uplifted to his, head cradled in his hand. 

Marie groaned into his mouth as she felt the ever-growing evidence of his desire against her. She lifted a leg and wrapped it around him. He obligingly ground against her, against those thin little running shorts that concealed such sweet little sins. The sound he made, fingers stroking her scalp, might have been a growl.

Marie broke the kiss and grabbed his hand - a much bigger hand than hers, he realized. She tugged him toward her room. "C'mere," she said, her voice guttural. 

He followed.

\---

The main light source in Marie's room was a lamp on a tiny table next to her twin bed, that looked like it served as both a night stand and a desk. Most of the space was dominated by a wide, packed bookshelf between her bed and the wall. A few shelves were organized by color and a few were haphazardly stuffed with books of all sizes and genres. Two shelves were dedicated to a spread of colorful crystals, and another held draped necklaces and bowls of rings. Christmas lights hung over the top of the shelves, emanating soft, warm light. A light blue textured bedspread covered the bed, meeting three crisp, white pillows.

Marie led Edd in, giggling, and pushed him onto the bed with a hand to his chest. Bed springs squeaked as he dropped back. Edd leaned back on his elbows as Marie followed, the bed squeaking under her knees. She straddled him, knees near his hips, and her face filled his vision, framed by swaying blue hair. She reached for his face and her touch against his cheek - light as a feather - made his breath catch. "Edd..." she whispered, before leaning in and gently kissing him. Her scent hit him again, and Edd stroked fingers up her thighs, under her shorts, squeezing the solid muscle and plump fat that was so profoundly _feminine_. "I wanna fuck the shit outta you," she breathed into his mouth. 

His cock throbbed in his jeans, as if it were possible for him to be any harder. Edd grinned into the kiss, nerves fluttering, stunned by her filthy mouth. Need dropped through his stomach like a stone through water. He pushed his fingers upward, gripping her butt and pulling her against his groin. She gasped and ground into him. Edd's chest flooded with molten fire. 

She pushed him down, flush against the bedspread, and nuzzled at his neck, planting tantalizing kisses in the sensitive spot under his ear. "I'm gonna ride you 'til I come." Her breath barely tickled his ear. She flicked her tongue under his Adam's apple, her hair grazing his chin, tickling him. "Imma sit on your face," she breathed, "like a throne." Edd's hands traveled up her back as she ground against him, teasing the erection that strained in his jeans. She returned to his mouth and he nipped at her lips, their tongue's wrestling with a passion that promised _more, later_. "Then I'm gonna lick that cock that's so hard for me." 

Edd groaned, hips bucking against Marie, feeling like he was outgrowing his skin. 

Marie sat up, tugging at Edd's shirt, and he leaned toward her and pulled it off, taking his hat with it. He snatched it off the blue blanket and moved to replace it. Meeting Marie's eyes - above him, as she sat astride him - he asked, "Do you mind?"

Marie smiled and ran her fingers through his dark, messy curls. She shook her head. "It's cute. As long as it doesn't get in the way." He pulled it on, tugging the brim close to the back of his neck. Replacing it made him starkly aware that he was half-naked beneath a woman. A curvy, wanton, electrifying woman. He watched her face. Marie trailed a finger down his thin chest, around a nipple, and down his stomach, into the dark hair there. His abdominals tensed as she tickled his ribs. Her eyes flicked back to his. "Take my shirt off," she requested, voice subdued.

Edd toed his shoes off so he could sit up better, keeping Marie on his lap with his legs loosely circling her - she wrapped hers around him tightly. Her weight on his erection was simultaneously sating and teasing his need.

His face was level with her neck and he nipped at it just above her collar. Marie loosed a sigh. Following the curve of her waist, he hooked his fingers under her shirt and dragged it upward. 

Marie captured his mouth again before lifting her arms, and he pulled the shirt off her in one movement. Her hair was mussed and her breasts were free before him, nipples pink and soft in the summer heat. A tattoo followed the curve below her right breast that read _I am, I am, I am_ in thin, slanting cursive.

Hungry, he kneaded his fingers in her back and slipped a hand down her shorts, tucking her closer to him. Edd kissed down her chest slowly and closed his teeth on the soft flesh of her breast above her sternum. He didn't want to hurt her, but something primal stirred when we saw teeth markings left behind. He licked the markings and kissed closer to her nipple. Her breasts rose and fell with her breaths. He kissed on her areola, the spot tender and pliant, and licked across her nipple.

Marie whimpered and rocked her hips, gripping his shoulder and neck and holding him to her breast. He licked at the little pink flesh until it became hard under his tongue, and then gently caught it between his teeth. Marie's head dropped back. 

Edd slid the hand in her shorts lower, feeling like he would explode when he realized she wore no underwear. He trailed his other hand upward, along the hard bone and muscle and soft curves, and found her other breast. He couldn't resist squeezing it, and when his palm felt the little nub of her nipple start to harden he stroked his fingers over it. All the while, he explored the sounds he could get Marie to make with his mouth, holding her nipple captive in his teeth and dragging his tongue across the tip. 

With hands under his jaw, Marie lifted his face and captured his mouth, greedy. _How could this possibly be real?_

She shifted and delicately placed a black nail on the button of his jeans. "These have got to go," she whispered. 

Simultaneously reluctant to withdraw his hands but eager to please, Edd undid his button and zipper, his mouth locked to Marie's. She lifted herself off of him, hands on his shoulders for balance. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling his sock off before pausing. 

"Uhm." Was he really about to take his pants off in front of Marie Kanker? He looked back at her, eyes wide, feeling his face flush with latent embarrassment.

Marie shuffled toward him on her knees, a brow raised. "You just sucked my tiddy and now you wanna act shy?" 

A laugh ripped from him and he stood up before her, summoning courage. Focusing on those eyes and that swollen mouth, Edd took a deep breath and pushed his pants and underwear down in one movement. His cock sprang free, fully erect. He noticed Marie's focus drift south and stay there as he stepped out of his clothes. She bit her lower lip and looked back up at him, kneeling in nothing but her shorts on the bed. 

"Oh, I'm gonna fuck you..." she muttered and Edd bent to kiss her, taut. Silken fingertips grazed up his shaft and met at the tip of his cock. He might have came right then and there, muscles tight, and distantly praised the gods of alcohol for those two beers; he wanted this moment to last. Marie had a hand wrapped loosely around his head and reached the other up to caress his neck. "Now undress me." He felt her words on his lips more than he heard them.

Edd knelt before the low bed, knees on their clothes, his hands on her sides, thumbs stroking beneath her breasts, over that tattoo. _The old brag of..._ he thought, the half-remembered quote floating into his mind. His heart thundered, grounding him in reality, like falling in a dream. He kissed Marie's flushed chest, her sweat slicked sternum, the soft span above her navel, and dipped his fingers into her elastic waistband. He lowered her shorts, tugging them over the curve of her butt, kissing down her stomach. He kissed a little dark blue heart that was tattooed beside her pubic bone, and stooped to kiss her thigh as her shorts hit the bed. 

He thought he could die for the sight of the naked woman before him, blue-haired and grinning mischievously down at him. 

Marie sat back to push her shorts all the way off. Edd caught a glimpse of those lovely pink folds between her legs and - he might have been salivating. 

He moved forward to capture her with his mouth but Marie moved first, wetting her fingers in her mouth and leaning forward to stroke him again. She kissed him, although his mind was focused on her hand on his erection, circling the head. He leaned forward, over her, hands on either side of her on the bed, planting his knees inside her open legs. 

He looked down at her body, her breasts, the slit between her legs, already glistening, waiting for him - and his brain faltered. 

"Oh, I - uhm," he mumbled haltingly, so focused on where his body was hovering in relation to hers. "I - wasn't planning on this. I don't - " Marie looked up at him, baffled, his cock still in her hand. She rubbed her thumb along the tip and he strained for cognizance. "I don't have a condom," he whispered to her.

Recognition flooded Marie's face and she twisted to the foot of the bed. "Oh yeah!" He caught another glimpse of the tattoo on the back of her neck. "Good call, how very responsible of you." She crawled to the edge of the bed and dug through a bag on the floor nearby, leaving her butt raised in the air and her glistening cunt on display as she searched. 

Moving not entirely of his own volition, Edd followed her to the edge of the bed on hands and knees. He stroked a thumb along one butt cheek and bent to kiss the other, squeezing the soft flesh. Marie froze. 

Edd kissed lower, trailing down her butt to her thigh. Marie pushed her butt up and back, toward him - _presenting_ herself to him, an animal part of him thought. The smell of her musk clogged his senses, blinding him to anything beyond the meal spread willingly before him. With a hand wrapped around each thigh, Edd licked, long and slow, from her clit to her cunt. 

Marie gasped, a small, feminine whine, and spread her knees wider. He licked again, slipping between her labia to fully taste how wet she was for him. 

He couldn't help but dip his tongue into her, moving his hands to help spread her open. Although he felt compelled to stay there - forever - he moved back down to her clitoris, peaking out from its hood. His rolled his tongue over and around the nub and Marie moaned, "Christ - " 

She straightened, a string of silver-wrapped condoms in her grip, and grabbed at Edd's fingers. "Lay down," she commanded, although her voice was strained. He raised his head to meet her eyes as she twisted around. "On your back." Her face was flushed, a feverish red across her cheeks and nose.

Edd obeyed, desire coiling in his stomach. He scooted back to the pillows, but laid his head on the blue blankets before them, watching Marie crawl closer. His cock rested on his stomach, hard and aching for stimulation. Marie was so - so fucking _filthy_. And absolutely beautiful as she tossed the condoms on the nightstand and twisted, throwing a knee over him and shimmying backwards, gazing over her shoulder at him. He reached for her legs but she hooked her feet past his shoulders, limiting his reach. With her hands on his stomach - tantalizingly near his dick - and knees by his chest, Marie lowered herself slowly, blocking the Christmas lights from view and giving him an unadulterated eyeful of all that lay between her legs. He lifted to meet her with a kiss to her clit as she rested back fully, his nose nearly in her cunt, allowing his tongue full access to everything. 

And so he ate, as if it were his first meal in days. Everything melted away until all that remained was Marie's musk, her moans, and the tensing of her muscles as he did something she liked. A carnal jungle for him to explore at his leisure. He licked between labia, circled her cunt, and sucked on her clit as he pleased, fully present in the experience, mind yielded to Marie's body. 

When he felt the first soft, wet stroke of Marie's tongue on his cock, an open-mouthed groan tore from him. He didn't stop his ministrations, but he reached up to grip her legs as best as he could as she licked again. A long, broad lick from his tip, down his shaft, and over his balls. He held onto her as if he'd go tumbling off the face of the earth without her. She wrapped a small hand around his shaft and covered his head entirely in her mouth, swirling her tongue like licking the icing off a spoon. 

Edd reflexively mirrored what he craved and locked his lips around her clit, sucking as rhythmically as he could, and switching to strokes with his tongue when his jaw felt tight. Marie straightened, her hand still working his spit-drenched cock. "God -" she crooned, and he felt a hand on his head, pulling his face tight against her. She cried out and he felt both of her hands claw into his chest. "God, that's -"

Edd maintained the unrelenting pace until Marie succumbed to his mouth and writhed on top of him, the muscles near his face contracting. He just held on tight while her thighs jerked and nails dug into him.

Marie's breaths evened out and Edd slowed, kissing every inch of her that he could reach. 

Marie straightened lethargically, hands splayed on him for support as she shifted away. Edd sat up after her as she reoriented, turning back to face him. Her eyes were glazed when she met his gaze. He reached for her face - warm, pink under her freckles - and gently pulled her to his lips. 

This kiss was subdued, unlike the earlier, wild, urgent ones. She licked along his lips, tasting herself. Edd stroked her hair, her side, and she clung to him, their legs circling each other again.

Edd moved to better hold Marie, but his dick grazed Marie's backside, and Marie moaned serenely into his mouth. "You want - you want this?" she whispered.

Edd pulled away, looking at her face, and kissed her nose absent-mindedly. "I -" He chuckled. "I think I made _that_ abundantly clear," he murmured, then paused. "Do you?"

Marie shook her head, a small smile cracking her lips. "Yeah," she whispered. Then she giggled, looking relieved, her smile creasing her eyes. "Yeah, I really do." 

And they kissed again before Marie reached for the condoms, tearing one off the bunch. He flattened his legs so she could sit back, but he didn't want to lay back - he wanted to be near enough to touch as she pulled the condom out and pinched the end. He trailed fingers down her arms, which wrapped small fingers around his dick as she rolled the condom along his shaft. 

She positioned herself over him and knitted her hands behind his neck, her thumbs caressing the area behind his ears. Edd pressed his lips to her neck and felt her breath on his forehead as her opening found his cock between them. 

And in one fluid movement, Marie sat, engulfing him completely, her butt grazing his balls. She cried out and Edd loosed a shuttering sigh into her collar - realizing how much he'd been _waiting_ for this, yearning for it. 

He wrapped arms around her torso tightly, maybe too tightly to let her ride easily but he didn't care, he just needed her skin against his skin, their heat and sweat mingling. Her breath was hot as she rolled her hips and slid up and back down his length. Edd clamped his teeth to the base of her neck as she slipped up-and-down, up-and-down, wrapped snugly around his cock. He felt melded to her, their bodies coupled as easily as holding hands.

He sought her nipple again, the flesh tender between his teeth. Marie's whimpers turned strained, like she couldn't get enough breath in around what was inside her. Her fingernails dug in and the sharp points of contact felt like an afterthought compared to the sensation of her, hot and slick around him. 

She slowed. Her quads were nearly twitching. "My legs are too tired," she whispered tenderly, and Edd didn't need to hear any more as he rolled them forward, laying Marie back on the bedspread as he fell over her, the bedsprings bouncing.

Marie wrapped her legs behind him and he drove himself into her to the hilt. Her head dropped back and Edd's existence tightened to the feeling of his dick driving into her, over and over, pure carnal need and the sounds of those little moans over the bed squeaking. 

With his hands knotting into the blanket around Marie's head, he felt the area behind his balls tighten as he thrust. The tightness radiated, through his glutes and his abs and his thighs, pressure building under his skin. A hand snuck under his hat, knocking it aside, pulling his hair, while the other raked lines down his back. He just dug down into Marie, the bed bouncing back to meet him each time, seeking the release his taut testicles begged for.

And then, the energy that had cultivated inside him liquefied. Thoughts fled as he twitched into Marie, emptying everything he had, his muscles all going weak at the same time. Absolute bliss spread through him, exhaustion close on its heels. He slumped into the soft woman below him as the crest of his orgasm passed through him. 

His hands found her hair and his lips kissed her neck. Marie stroked circles in his hair, the tingling sensation compounding the post-orgasm relaxation. "Wow," he whispered into her skin, her a vein pulsing under his lips. "Wow..."

Marie turned her face into his and kissed him sweetly. Her lips conveyed dripping passion. She unfurled her legs and Edd leaned back, a hand on the condom as he pulled out. Marie didn't seem to appreciate him pulling out, according to her supplicating sigh. "Garbage?" he asked, his voice still low as if he might disturb the atmosphere, while he tied the condom off. 

"Bathroom," Marie gestured, and rolled onto her stomach. "I really gotta pee, though." They extracted their limbs from each other and Marie led him the short distance to the bathroom, pointing to a can beside the toilet, on which she promptly sat, hands under her chin. The familiarity of the act felt more intimate than the entire preceding half-hour. 

\---

Marie peed while Edd grabbed them water. She appreciated the view of his perky little butt walking past as he returned to her bedroom, glasses in hand. 

Hands cleaned, she padded back into her room. Edd had that dazed-and-confused expression again, his eyes sweeping their clothes strewn across the room like a bomb had gone off. Her dumb afterglow had her aching to be back in his arms and she wrapped around him tenderly, her heart skipping a beat when his chin rested on top her head and his hands stroked circles on her back. 

"Will you..." The words jammed up in her throat, and she pressed her cheek into his chest. "Stay?" she asked, like she was divulging a secret. 

"Yes," he responded simply into her hair, and she squirmed as his fingers traced the sensitive skin along her side. 

"Okay, good." She looked back up at him. His hat had fallen off at some point and his black curls stuck up along his forehead. 

Something about him reminded her of dog - the kind that has no idea how big it is. Just the type to knock a table over on its way to greet its owner. Maybe it was just too obvious that the way he saw himself had no correlation to how he really was, broad-shouldered and elegant and goofy.

He looked back to their clothes, lips pursing. The planes of his face were sharp in the soft lighting. "I should probably send some texts, actually." 

Marie hummed her acknowledgement and pulled away, chilly without his body heat, already missing the contact with his skin. Rumpled from the fray, she pulled the bed sheets aside and slipped in, squiggling close to the bookshelves to make room for Edd. She watched him with drowsy eyes as he rooted through their clothes - seemingly unable to resist folding both his and hers. He finally emerged with his phone in his hand and scooted near to Marie on the bed, although his eyes were scanning through his texts. 

"Oops," he muttered, fingers working on his keyboard.

"Miss anything good?" Marie asked, curling in around his butt and legs where he sat, naked on her bed.

"Most definitely not..." he replied absently, seeming to consider the words he was writing before resuming typing. He smiled shyly at her. "I told my parents I was taking a walk, and that was...quite a while ago, now. But..." he said, composing more texts, "I happened to run into Ed and Eddy, and I'm now staying the night at Ed's." He snapped his phone down on the bedside table, next to the condoms, and shuffled under the covers next to her, the bed squeaking under the adjustments. 

As if on some ancient instinct, Marie moved into the crook near his armpit and he tucked her close, their bodies fitting like they were meant to always be so near. His armpit crook proved to be an excellent pillow, the perfect amount of squish and support. Their legs knotted together and she was aware that her still-throbbing pussy was lining up with his dick, but she was too exhausted to tease him. If he made a move in the night though...she could be persuaded into a round two.

"Oh," she noted and tugged the Christmas lights out of the socket behind her. Edd reached back for the desk lamp and plunged them into darkness with a sharp _click_. The small bedroom window, which she never bothered to put a curtain over, cast a faint glow from the ambient light outside. 

Edd's chin rested on Marie's head and she felt like she was laying in a cloud, or rocking on the ocean, sleep reaching for her impatiently. His body was like a space heater under the blankets. From her spot in her crook, she could feel Edd's chest rise and fall with his breath, and if she listened very closely, she could feel the faint thump of his heart. 

Edd's thumb stroked lazy half-circles on her back, and without even thinking about it, she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind...Edd has a flip phone :)


	5. The F**k (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: okay now just write a quick easy ending
> 
> me to me: write a whole new sex scene and do the scrubs series finale trick

Edd woke up only once in the night, his bladder almost painfully full. He extracted himself as unobtrusively as he could, but when their limbs were this tangled it was impossible not to disturb Marie. She curled into his warm spot on the bed, wrapping around a pillow. 

When he returned, Marie was facing away from him and he folded his body around hers. She snuggled into him, her back flush against his chest and her butt rubbing delectably against his groin. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, and rested his head on her back, willing sleep to return.

But...Marie kept moving. Minutely, such minor movements that, at first, he thought it must have been his imagination. He pressed into her regardless, his semi-hard dick against her butt, and relaxed, again waiting for sleep. 

Oh, no, she was _definitely_ squirming in his arms, making small gyrations with her hips that made his cock throb. Little licks of friction between them. Edd groaned into her back. Dreamlike, he slipped a hand down her stomach, easing into the warm place where her thighs were pressed together. She lifted a leg and tucked it behind Edd's, their ankles crossing as he nudged her legs further open and slipped his hand down into her silken folds. 

She wasn't wet - yet - his middle finger searching her opening, pressing against the edges, circling it. He cupped her sex with his whole hand, the flesh soft in a way that made him hard, and trailed his fingers up and down her labia. 

Marie sighed, sounding like she was panting, and grabbed his other hand, raising it to cup her breast with both of their hands. Three fingers played with the area around her clit, petting and rubbing at it until he felt a thin bit of moisture materialize. He trailed back down along her slit and - ah, yes, now she was slick, and he dipped his fingers into her, his fingertips hugging her walls.

A whine escaped Marie's lips and Edd rubbed his thumb along her nipple, kissing the back of her neck. She still worked her hips, his cock now hard and nestling between her butt cheeks. 

"Just put it in," she whimpered, reaching between them to grab his cock, but Edd pulled her closer against him. He had his hands full, and wasn't ready for the distraction of a pretty girl's fingers working his cock. Although he didn't mind her butt rubbing against him, at all.

He snaked his other hand south and willed her legs even further apart, withdrawing his slick fingers but immediately replacing them with new ones. He dragged her lubrication upward, slipping over and around her clit while he wriggled his fingers insider her. 

"Oh, God," Marie whispered, opening her legs entirely, her body nearly laying on top of his, head lolling over his shoulder and her breath tickling his neck. The room was dark, but Edd was relieved when she kicked the bedsheets down for what little of her body he could see.

Edd slipped another finger in, his knuckles stretching her entrance, hand slipping over her folds, fingers sliding between her labia. 

"Oh fuck, oh fuck me, fuck me, Edd," Marie was pleading, although Edd doubted she was even aware of the words slipping between her lips, breathily begging behind his ear. His own consciousness felt like it had barely returned from sleep, only the important, base parts of him rearing their heads. He played and played with her pussy, the sensations heady, feeling drunk on her, until he started to feel a tightening and pushing deep where his fingers were buried.

"Oh God, oh God..." Marie clutched at Edd's hair, his side, creeping lower until she successfully found his cock, freed at some point during the fray, and gripped it firmly. He jerked into her hand, his hands moving with more urgency. She withdrew to spit in her hand and dribbled her spit along him, lubing him before she gripped him again.

Now Edd was the one groaning as he coaxed Marie's pussy's closer to what they both craved, feeling like a painter swirling together new colors as he discovered the different ways Marie could feel, the different ways she would seize up and moan and reach for him, searching for the movements that made both of them untamed and lost in each other's bodies.

Far, far too soon, Marie went still and silent, her head dropping back. Her back curled in and her fingers went rigid, and the muscles around Edd's fingers pulsed, her little hole gripping him. She sucked in a breath - a small singsong sound coming with it, and Edd thought this is what it must feel like to hear music for the very first time. To experience something so pure and wonderful, a message in a bottle passed from an artist to an awed audience, a new idea birthed into existence. Because he knew, he knew, the way he felt with Marie, was something new. A completely original composition, vibrant and barely able to be contained. This feeling, this glimmering attraction to the woman writhing in his arms, the joy and calm and passion that swirled in him - this was for them alone.

When Marie was limp and quiet, he wrapped arms around her tightly, holding her close, ready to sleep again. But her hand trailed along his stomach and returned to his hard cock - precum dribbling out, and she rubbed the very tip, rousing his mind again instantly. 

He nudged her with his nose, curling around her, spooning her again, and whispered in her ear, voice ragged, "How do you want it?" 

Her hands trailed along his forearm, playing with his arm hair. It was amazing that he could still make out how blue her hair was in the darkness. He tugged on a cold, gleaming earring with his teeth. She answered, her voice blending in with the night, "What's your favorite?"

His nose on her neck surrounded him with her scent, and he licked at the small hollow, up a beating vein. "What'll make you scream my name?" 

Marie stilled, breath hitching, then grabbed his hands, extracting herself from his hold, twisting - onto her stomach. The arch of her back, all the muscles from her shoulders down to the rise of her ass, begging to be caressed, contours kissed by the faint light. She folded her hands under her cheek and turned to face him, like she was ready for a massage. Looking at him like that, blue eyes grey in the night, hair falling lazily across her face, every curve of her skin - he would worship at her feet if she asked.

But instead, Marie lifted her butt into the air, back arching, wiggling it a little bit, and smiled sleepily up at him. "Fuck me like this," she whispered. 

Edd was already in motion. He ripped open a condom and slid it on, needing to feel that hot, wet hole he was now well acquainted with around him. Marie lifted her butt further as Edd straddled her, positioning himself at her opening. He dragged himself up and down her slit, already perfectly soaked for him. 

Her hands reached back and pulled her butt cheeks apart, spreading herself. Edd could barely contain his desire, but he slid a hand down her back to her neck, into her hair, and growled, "You are amazing."

He brought himself back to her cunt, and slid in. Their groans sounded together. Hers, petite and lovely, his, gruff and wild. He gripped her hip, pulling her closer. "Absolutely amazing."

And he laid into her, not holding back, not seeing any reason to as she cried out and tore at the pillows. "Oh, _fuck_ me, yes, yeah, oh -" she whined.

 _Fuck_ , Edd thought, panting, the sound of their bodies slapping together and the bed squeaking frantically under his rhythm. It was amazing being inside Marie, he already knew that. Already knew he could fuck one hundred women and never find someone like this again. But he could swear, the tip of his dick - he was bottoming out. Hitting her back walls. Animalistic need swelled in him, and he shoved her thighs closed with his own legs, leaning over her, digging her out as deeply as he could. He grabbed her fisted hands, threading their fingers together, his nose in her hair. 

And as Edd took her, greedily, roughly, Marie kept her promise and screamed his name.

* * *

Sun streamed in through the tiny window in the upper corner of the room, right on Edd's face, gently nudging him awake. 

He was totally wrapped around Marie, this time on his stomach, with his face between her breasts, her legs lazily draped around him. She cradled him, her arms around his head. 

He nuzzled back into her chest, closed his eyes, and fell back to sleep.

* * *

He woke up again when Marie went to the bathroom. The sun seemed high enough to rationalize sitting up. He leaned against the bookshelves and grabbed his phone. His parents asked if he would be home for breakfast, and although he had definitely already missed breakfast, he replied in the negative.

His group chat with Ed and Eddy was a little bit more raucous this morning. His message from last night (sent after nightlight, he realized, chagrined by how rude he'd been to his parents) read, 

> **Double Dee:** If anyone asks, I'm staying with you guys tonight.
> 
> **Double Dee:** Didn't mean to bail earlier and then...do this. Tonight took an unexpected turn.

His friends' responses piled up,

> **Eddy:** oh i geddit ur hanging out with ur OTHER friends, huh??
> 
> **Eddy:** 🙄🙄🙄🙄
> 
> **Ed:** 🍆🍑🌮????
> 
> **Eddy:** 🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑!?
> 
> **Eddy:** WAIT 
> 
> **Eddy:** WHOM
> 
> **Eddy:** no way no fucin way dude
> 
> **Ed:** we dont even know any girls
> 
> **Eddy:** i s2g man if u waited this long to come out the closet like THIS
> 
> **Ed:** mabe he just went camping :)
> 
> **Ed:** surprise camping :)
> 
> **Eddy:** is it kevin i fuckin knew it all along

He chuffed a laugh and scrubbed at his face. He considered the likelihood of his friends believing the truth and found that funnier than a lie.

> **Double Dee:** Marie Kanker.
> 
> **Double Dee:** I'm going to marry this girl.

He chucked his phone back on the table and searched for his boxers and pants. The table buzzed with his friends' responses. He picked up Marie's clothes too, and laid them on the bed, although he suddenly...wasn't sure what to do with himself anymore. 

Somehow, last night, he'd become so decisive. Words and actions flowed through him without first passing through a net of anxieties. He just knew what he felt and wanted, and Marie didn't seem to mind that at all. But now...now he was nervous again. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, and never seeing this woman again.

 _Okay Eddward, now is the time to use that brain._ He thought he heard Marie tooling around in the kitchen, and rapidly sorted through his thoughts to come up with a plan as he pulled on his pants. Well, Marie seemed to respond well to honesty, so he should be honest. But honest about what? How he...felt? What _did_ he feel? He knew he felt despair at the thought of walking out that trailer door, of never seeing Marie again. He knew he felt hurt to think that, maybe this had just been a wild one night stand to Marie, and that she wouldn't _care_ if he left and never came back. Or, what if she just didn't want a relationship right now? It's not like he could bring himself to argue with her, as if he knew what she needed. If she didn't want more -

Wait, did Edd want more? _Holy shit_ , he thought, pacing around the small space. He really wanted to take her on a date. He really wanted to go to the movies with Marie. He wanted to tell his college friends about her. _Holy shit_. Edd ran his hands through his hair. 

Okay, okay. _Slow down_. He bent and folded more of Marie's clothes that were tossed on the floor. _Plan_. **Step 1:** Get her number. Easy. 

But how would he ask? He sat on the bed, meditative. **Step 1, Part A:** Make a cool joke. "Come here often?" **Step 1, Part B:** Make sure she had fun last nig -

Marie appeared from the bathroom, stark naked, a coffee aroma floating in with her. She looked somewhat surprised to see him still sitting on her bed, half dressed. It's not like he could have left without her knowing - the exit was out there. Or maybe, he thought, as a beautiful, naked woman padded toward him, thighs and breasts jiggling and blue hair sticking up, maybe she regretted -

Marie straddled him on the bed, all his thoughts fleeing, although she only wrapped warmly around him, arms and legs, resting her head on his shoulder. He held her in his lap, hands on her back, as they just embraced - hugged. Nothing sexual, despite their various states of undress, their skin pressed together. A plan...what was he supposed to say to her? Edd just held her for long minutes, his nose in her hair, breathing her in.

There was something about the way Marie inhaled so deeply, the way her fingers curled, that started to feel...sad. And he realized he was comforting her, stroking long caresses down her back. 

His plans dissolved in the nearness of the moment. He tightened his hold on her and muttered into her hair, "Why do I feel like you're saying goodbye?" 

Marie's breathing stilled. 

She japed, "I didn't know you were moving in," although her voice sounded constricted.

Edd said quietly, "You know what I mean," and they lapsed into silence again. 

When she still didn't respond, he tried to summon the ease he'd had earlier and spoke. "Marie...last night -" He held her tighter, petting her hair. "I want to see you again," he whispered, his voice recalling the night air that they'd both found so easy to breath in just a few hours earlier.

"Like friends?" her voice cracked, although her tone was facetious. Always patching over the big wounds with humor.

But Edd wasn't in the joking mood. "More than friends." He paused. "Or friends, if that's all you want." Even though he found it hard to imagine acting normal around Marie now. Now that he knew what she tasted like. Now that he'd peaked behind the stage curtains that concealed her thoughts and feelings. 

"Eddward," she breathed, going totally rigid as she swallowed once, twice, three times. "It's - I don't know." She was barely breathing. "That was intense, last night. I'm -" She swallowed again. "I don't know."

Grief threatened to congeal in his chest. He would absolutely respect her decision. He was just a guy who she found passed out by the creek. So why did he feel like his heart was breaking?

"I don't wanna get hurt." Her voice was cracked, and water hit his chest. "I'm just - I don't know."

Edd didn't know what to say, so he just held her. He yearned for her happiness in that moment, while the fear of losing her sat curled in his stomach like a dog before a fire. 

When her breathing was even again, Edd repeated the core truth that swam through his mind again and again: "I _want_ to see you again."

* * *

He had this image in his head. So stupid. So utterly foolish, these thoughts of a girl he barely knew. This image of Marie, in a sundress, something floral that would blow in the wind. And when she would bend over to put her sandals on, the dress would ride up in the back _just_ to the border of indecency. And they were going to a party somewhere, an outdoor party, maybe a backyard wedding. They were bringing a nice bottle of wine, a bow around the neck. And as Marie pulled on her sunglasses, she would fuss with the curls around his face, their argument - which she won - about him not wearing a hat, already forgotten and forgiven. As they approached the party, their friends on the other side of the fence already raucous, he would kiss her and tell her she looks beautiful with a hand on the small of her back. She would ask him to tell her something she didn't already know before winking at him and clasping their hands together, walking through the open gate to the party.

* * *

Insane, after only one night. One soul-bending night. To be dreaming like this.

"So buy me breakfast," Marie spoke lucidly. 

"Huh?"

She lifted her head, blue eyes in a sea of freckles meeting his. "Then buy me breakfast. Brunch date." She grinned, puffy eyes crinkling. "Let's go to Lucio's, no one ever goes there for brunch so there's never a wait." 

"I - uh - I don't have my wallet," Edd's thoughts scrambled and reformed like an army. "I can go shower - I can meet you at noon, back here, if you want." Anticipation fluttered in him like a bird. 

"Oh, take your time, I just put the coffee pot on if you wanna hang around for a while." She stretched her arms overhead, yawning, and winked at him. Edd ran his thumb along the tattoo beneath her rib cage. The quote appeared in his head.

_I listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am._

Did they read that book...freshman year?

"Sure, I'd love a cup. Can I, uhm." Edd smiled, relief crashing through him, and felt bashful. "Can I have your phone number?"

"Oh, of course." Marie leaned in to kiss him, a small peck, then pushed him down and crawled over him to grab her phone off the book shelf. "What's your last name, anyway?" 

Excitement rose through him, like heat through a hot air balloon, and Edd felt buoyant. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for ur afterglow ✨🎈  
> https://open.spotify.com/track/0KyzXQhY2yzcb1FYCHkZc2?si=09-RhHABT9yWZ2cSRKm3iA

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Otra Trama Cuidadosamente Establecida, Frustrada](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25831795) by [Sabrichitason](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabrichitason/pseuds/Sabrichitason)




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